Furnace for effecting heat treatments



SePt- 20, 1932- E. o. sEssloNs FURNACE FOR EFFECTING HEAT TREATMENTS Filed May 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 l N VEN TOR. E05 l0N o. 5E .S5/ons A TTORNEY.

Sept. 20, 1932. E. o. SESSIONS l 1,878,896

FURNAGE FOR EFFECTING HEAT TREATMENTS Filed May 25. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNE Y.

. I INVENTOR.

E.' D5 0N O. SESS/OMS Sept. 20, 1932. E. o. SESSIONS FURNACE FOR EFFECTING-HEAT TREATMENTS (5 Sheets-Sheet I5 Filed May 25, 1950 INVENOR. Ewa/v o. .SESS/@N5 BYI/f/J se@ ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 20, 19.32

EDSON O. SESSIONS, OF'KCHICAGO, ILLINOIS Y 'A FURNACE ron i'irrEc'rING HEAT TREAriviENrs 'Application le `May 28,

My invention relates to an improved con- K struction of furnace for heat treating desired metal parts and materials, by which the conveying mechanism used with the furnace may be protected from the action of the heat of the furnace,,particularly where high temperatures are required in the furnace.

. In furnaces used for heat treatment, various ranges of temperature are required, dem' pending upon the nature of the treatment to be giventhe parts or material passed through the furnace. For example, wherethe treatment consists of nitriding, malleabilizing, Y hardening, drawing or normalizing, the teml5 perature may range from 1200o F. to 1600o F.; again, where the treatment consists of annealing, carborizing, or soaking, the temper-V ature may range from 1600OF. to 1900or F., again, Where the treatment is Vfor the purpose of heating bars, slabs,'or billets, heating parts for forging, and for reheating parts, the teinperature may be as high as 2800o F. in the furnace. In furnaces of the kind referred to, `metal conveyer chainsv areusually employed 25 to move the material or parts to betreated,

through the furnace, the furnace being constructed in any case to produce' the required heat and subject the parts to the necessary temperature ,for the time interval-required to effect the treatment desired.

FVliile the conveyor chains employed may be made of iron or steel for'the lower temperatures of treatment referred to, considerable difficulty is experienced where the higher temperatures rreferred to are required, in selecting material for` the conveyor chains, that will even to a reasonable degree withstand the high temperature of the furnace, even though the best heat resistant iron or steel alloys available are used, for example ferroalloy, or other alloy having a much higher melting ordisintegrating temperature than that of iron or steel itself.

bv wliiclrcooling fluid may be circulatedv r through .the runways. and bearing surfaces of f Y substantial extent are provided on the Chain Fig. 3,

Vling'the vflow of cooling fluid Bymy present invention I provide an'im-` v 1930. serial No. 454,968.v

links for effectively communicating Ythefheat of the chain llinks to the runways, these bearing surfacesA also on account of their large surfaces, materially reducing the wear of the chains upon the runways. By my'invention I also provide controlling mechanism lfor regulating the flow of the Vcooling fluid throughv the runways kaccording to the temperatures of the runways and the need there may be from time totime to cool them.

' My invention will best be understood -by reference to` the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment thereof, in whichV Fig. 1 is a vertical, longitudinal, sectional view. through aheat treatment furnace provided with `my improved conveying mechanism, Fig. 2 isa sectional view to an enlarged sca1e,of the parts shown in Fig. ltaken along theline,

Fig; 3 shows in plan view to a further'enlarged scale, a part of a conveyorchain iii.l

place on its runway, f Fig. 4 shows in side view to a further enlarged scale, one of the chain links shown in Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the parts shown in Fig. 3 `taken along the line 5 5, this-viewv being to alarger scale thanv that shownlin Fig. 3, Y

Fig. 6 shows in a view similar to Fig. 1,.a modified arrangement of piping for controlthroughA the sections of the chain runway,

Y Fig. 7- shows in a view similar to Fig. V6 ay further modifiedv arrangement of. piping` for vcontrolling the flow of cooling fluid through the-,sections of the chain runway, and

Fig. 8 shows in a diagrammatic view, controlling mechanism that may be employed to regulate the flow of cooling fluid through the sections Vof the chain runway, according to the temperature of the cooling fluid in therun- 95. ,Y Y

wav sections. Similar numerals'refer to similar parts throughout the several views.`

In Fig. 1'-I show at 10 a lheat"treatment furnace of refractory material,which furnace V`may have any desired size and' construction,

iooy

according to the particular work it is to do.

As illustrated, the furnace is provided with Y a stack 11, and a transverse metal beam 12 for` are provided respectively in the rear and the front walls of the furnace, to permit the parts Y and materials to be treated, to enterand leave the furnace. A plurality of endless conveysupported outside of the furnace'on sprocket wheels 17, 18,' 19 and 20, carried respectively by shafts 21,' 22,23 and 24`so that the chains may move continuously through the furnace and return ybelow vthe bed 25 of the furnace asindicated. Y` Y i z j The chains 16 may be of any particulartype applicable to the purpose, and in Figs. 1 and 2, I illustrate chains having pads or plat'- forms 16ul carried by the links to provide substantially continuous supporting` surfaces above the links in the furnace for the parts or materials carried through the furnace by the chains. The shafts 21, 22,23 and 24 may be supported in suitable bearings not shown, inany desiredmanner, and one or more of the shafts may be provided withv driving mechanism, Vas shown for examplevfor the shaft 23,

' which carries'a pinion 26 engaged by a chainl 27 'extending to anyesuitablesourceof motive power not shown. i

i Each-of the chains 164 is supported in the furnace, by runway 'sections 28, 28a, the runway sections for each'chain being supported by thebed of the furnace, inline with each c other to 'constitute in effect a continuous support for the chain. The runway sections; 28, 28a are made preferably of ferrousvallo'y `having high heat resistant properties,` and are hollow so that cooling medium`may be caused to flow through them. The number of runway sections 28, 28a, used witheach chain 16, isdetermined by the length of the furnace,

since it isfdesirable that these runway sec-V tions shall Vbe short enough to be convenient,-

` lymade, andalso short enough so,y that there Ais no danger of their warping under the''action of the heat of the furnace. The runway sections 28, 28afor each vchain are separated slightly at their adjacent ends as indicated, topermit expansion ofthe sections whenthey are subjected tothe heat of'thefurnace, and

"the adjacent vends of each pair of runway vsections for each chain, are preferably 'sup-e ported by a metal. plate 29 resting on'the furnace bed 25, to insure that the upper'surfaces of the adjacent ends ofthe runway sections are maintained in alignment with each other. `rI he runway sections 28,28a for each chain 16, may be supplied with cooling fluid as Vfollows: A, pipe 30 extendsfromfthe entrance end of the section 28 through the bed 25 to a control valve 31,7from which connection is made by a pipe 32 with the source of cooling fluid employed, whichis maintainedV in any desired manner under requisite pressure to cause it to flow through the runway secf tionsxv'lhe other end of thev section 28 has connected with-it a pipe 33 extending through thevbed 25, this pipe 33 in turn connecting with a pipe 34..,extending through the bed V25 and connecting with the end of the secor chains 16, preferably of ferrous alloy have. ing high heat resistant properties, extend in parallel relation through the furnace andare tions for one of the chains 16.

aThe. fittings connecting the .l pipes 33,*kand 34C below the bed 25 are preferably provided I with thermostatic devices 36 for controlling the iow of coolingfluid through the runway sections, and also with apressure relief valve 37 for preventingthe development of exces- Y vsive pressures in the runway sections, by the heat ofthe furnace. The plate 29is preferably provided with enlarged openings through it for the pipes 33 and 34, `to the end thatthe pipes may move freely towards andk from: each other as required by the contraction andex-pansion of therunway -sections 28, 28a.

- Thel piping, described maybe connected Vwiththe runways either-by threading or welding asdesired and as may be determined by the particular service to which the runways are, to be subjected. `The cooling fluid employed may be of any nature that will adequately absorb the required amount of heat from the runways and chains, to protect them from undesirable action of the heat in lthe furnace.l `For example, where the furnace temperatures are relatively low., the Huid may be gaseous, for example air 5 again, for higher furnace temperatures,it may be desirable to use liquid as thecooling `fluid, for example oil of one kind oranother; again, under Aother conditionsof furnace temperature, water will be found to give eifective results as a cooling fluid@V Y A y [A supporting plate or plates38 are preferably provided below each chain 16 to support the lower part Aof lthe chain, this plate or plates being supported in turn in any con- -venient manner.` 7 c A yAs shown inlig. 2 each of the runway sectionsis provided with upwardly extending edgeflanges 286, 28?)` forming a channel between them toreceive the chain 16 so thatthe chain is supported and guided bythe runway lin its mo-vement through the furnace. It will be understood that the number of chainsand Vrunways provided inany furnace, Ais determined Yby the size ofthe furnace, and the narelatively thin, metalsheets, it is desirable to place the conveyor chains relatively near each other, to avoid sagging -of the sheets when heated and to further avoid undue pressures at the points ofsupport of thesheets.

foundsufcient. In the latter case, partic-` ularly where the end portions of the parts being treated, do not require heat treatment, the top wall of the furnace is preferably provided with downwardly extending flange sections 102) which may be provided on their lower edges with pipes 39 to receive cooling medium, for example water. In this manner the end portions of the parts orY materials being treated may be protected from the maximum temperatures in thevfurnace, and at the same time the chains and runways may be protected to a certain extent by said furnace flanges from said temperatures. The runways 28 may be provided with flanges 280, to increase theanchorage of the runways in the bed 25. i

The chain 16, may be Vof any form that will carry the parts or materials through Vthe furnace, and in Fig. 3 I show a type of chain 16?) which is the same as that illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, excepting that the pad or platform sections 16a are omitted. In this construction, each link of the chain consists of a cylindrical pivot portion 160 and a hook portion 16d for engaging the cylindrical por- Y tion 16e of the next link, and an integral con-4 necting frame 16e of a length permitting the teeth of the sprocket wheels to properly engage the chain. With chain links of this kind as heretofore constructed, the frame 16e is continued at its edges in the form of annular flanges 167e around the hook portion 16d, to reinforce said hook portion, and these annular flanges lf have heretofore constituted the only bearing surfaces of the chain on the chain runways. As a result, particu'- larly where heavy loads were` carried by the chain, the unit pressures developed between the chain links andthe runways, were high, and this, together with the highly heated con-V dition of the chains and the runways, produced rapid wearing and disintegration Vb otli of the chain links and the runways, requiring frequent renewal of the runways because of their usually being of softer material than the chain links. 'Ihis undesirable result, I avoid in part, by constructing the runways as described, so that they may be maintained in relatively cool condition by suitable cooling fluid, and I further avoid this undesirable result, byextending the frame portions 16e of each'link towards the runway inthe form of an enlarged bearing portion 16g, each of these bearing portions having a' flat surface of-engagement with the runway, and being of Va length substantially equal to the distance between the cylindrical portions 160 of successive links, or as much of said distance as permitted in passing the chain around its sprocket wheels. Each of the bearing portions 16g is of the full width permitted by the clearance required by the sprocket teeth co-operating withthe chain, and vthe overall width of thechain.

In this manner substantial bearing surfaces are provided for each chain link, and these bearing surfaces accomplish two results:

First, the weight carriedrby any link of the.

chain in serving its purpose described, is distributed overa considerable area and the unit bearing pressures are correspondingly low with theresult that wear of the chain links and wear of the chain runways is reduced to a minimum; second, the relativelylarge areas of'contact between chain links and the runways permit the; effective transfer of heat from the chain links to the runways, and in turn to the cooling fluid in the runways, with the result that the chain is maintained in much cooler condition than if the chain links were of the conventional form, even if the cooled runways were employed. The construction of the bearing portions 16g is more clearlyshown in Figs. 4 and l5.

In thek piping arrangement shown in Fig.

6, cooling uid is supplied to the runway section 28 by pipe 30 as above described, and after passing through the runway section 28a, the cooling'fluid delivered to the discharge pipe 35 in the'manner above described. In this case however, the pipes 33 vand 34 are connected respectively with pipes `40 and 41 extending under lthe bed 25 towards the ends of the furnace, the other ends of these pipes A40 and 41 being connected with the ends of a ASI5 pipe 42, so that the pipes 40, 41 and 42 serve to cool the fluid medium flowing from the runway section 28, before it is delivered to the runway section 28a. With this construction, thermostatic devices 38 and a pressure relief valve 37 are connectedwith the piping adjacent the ends ofthe pipe 42. v

In' cases where the furnace temperatures are very high, it may beldesirable to supply cooling fluid from the source of such fluid, directlyV to each of the runway sections as illustrated in Fig. 7. As shown in this fig'- vure, cooling fluid is supplied to the runway section 28 through pipe 30 as above described, and after passing through the section 28, the cooling fluid is delivered therefrom toa pipe 43 extending to the discharge point lof the cooling' fluid. Thermostatic devices 36a and a pressure relief valve 37a are connected with the outlet pipe 43, to control the flow of cooling fluidk through Ithe section 28 and predischarged as desired. 'Ihermostatic devices 366 and a pressure relief valve/37b are connected with pipe to control the flowvof cooling fluid through the section 28anand toA prevent the producing of undesired pressures in said section. f .Y

In Fig. 8, I illustrate diagramma'tically a control system that may be employed to regulate the flowY of cooling fluid through the runway sections. As shown in-this figure,the pipe 30a for supplying cooling fluid .to any of the runway sections, forexample the runway section 28, extends to an` automatically operated valve 46 having an o'peratingarm 47, said valve being connected through a stop valve 31V withthe pipe V32 supplying the system with cooling fluid. Y The thermo,- static devices 36 consist in part of a movable contact spring 49 arrangedto make electric contact with either of two Vfixed contact springs 50 and 5l according to whetherfthe cooling Huid in the pipe 33 is hotter or cooler than desired, the contact'springl 49 being carried by an arm 'movable in onedirection or the other according to incrase or .decrease in temperature. The contact. spring 49 is connected by wire 52 with one terminal of a battery 53, or equivalent source of electricV current, the` other terminal of said source being connected by wire 54 with one terminal of each'of the solenoids 55 and 56.l The other terminal of the solenoid 55 is connected by wire 57 with the contact spring 50,`and the other terminal of the solenoid 56 is connect-Y ed Vby wire 58 with the contact spring 51. The solenoids 55 and 56 are provided with cores 59 and 6,0v which are connected to*- gether as indicated and also with the arm 47 so that energization ofthe solenoid 55 moves the arm 47 to open the valve 46, and energization of the solenoid 576 movesthe arm 47 to close the valve 46. As a result of the circuit connections described, when the temperature ofthe cooling fluid delivered to the pipe 33 is hotter than a predetermined temperature, the contact spring 49 engages the contact i, spring 5() and energizes the solenoid 55 which opens the valve 46, ifit is not already in its open position.` When the contact spring 49 engages the contact spring 51, due to the temperature of the cooling fluid in the pipe 33 dropping below a second predetermined temperature, the solenoid 55 is deenergized and the solenoid 56 is energized to close the valve 46. It will be observed `that the contacts 50 and 51 maybe adjusted so that there are intermediate positions of the contact spring 49 for whichY neither of the solenoid circuits is closed, and if desired, the movement imparted tor-the arm 47. by `the solenoids 55 and 56 ing from the scope vof the appended ltrol t-he cooling fluid flowing through the runway sections, for while it is desirable to cool said sections to protect them andthe chains from being overheated, itis at the same time'important that this cooling action be not permitted to- Vcool kthe runway sections and chains more than necessary to protect them from the heat of the furnace, otherwise much of the heat ofthe furnace. would be unnecessarily lost. vTo lrender eective the automatic control described, the nature of the cooling fluid, its temperaturmvthe size of the piping andthe capacity for cooling fluidfin the runway sections, should be taken so that for maximum pressure on the cooling fluid, a somewhat greater cooling effect is produced on the runway sections and the chains,

than is required, to the end that the thermostatic devices may hold the degree of cooling of the runwa-yfsections and the chains at substantially the desired amount. It will be understood'that each of the chain runways may be provided with controlling mechanism as illustrated in Fig. 8, or ifpreferred, the same control mechanism mayy control all of said chain runways, particularly `where the runways are heated substantially equal amounts, and it is desirable to cool them substantially equal amounts.

While I have shownA my invention in the particular embodiment 'above described, it

,lwillbe understood'that I do not limit myself to thisexact construction 'as I `may employ equivalents known to the art at the time of thefiling of' this application without departn claims.

VVWhat I claim -is:-A

l. Conveyor means for heat treatment furnaces, consisting of the combination of metal chains extending through the furnace, metal runways supporting said chains Yand having lateral guides for said chains, each of said Vrunways being hollow, means for passingv cooling fluid through said runways, and sprocket wheels engaging said chains to Vmove rthem through the furnace, each' ofhsaid chains consisting of. interengaged links for y1 engagement with the teeth of said sprocket wheels provided for saidV chain, said links having side portions with flat bottom surfaces of engagement with said runways of widths substantially equal to the width between the said runway guides less the lateral clearances for said sprocket teeth, and of lengths substantially equal to the lengths'between clearancesof the interengaging por'- tions of said links. i

v2. Conveyor means for heat treatment furnaces, consisting of the combination of metal chains'extending through the furnace, met-al runways supporting' said chainsand having lateral f guides forsaidch'ains," and fico sprocket wheels engaging said chains to move them through the furnace, each of said chains consisting of interengaged links for engagement with the teeth of said sprocket wheels provided for said chain, said links having side portions with dat bottom surfaces of engagement with said runways of Y widths substantially equal-to the width between the said runway guides less the lateral clearances for said sprocket teeth, and of lengths substantially equal to the lengths between clearances of the interengaging por# tions of said links. y

3. Conveyor means for heat treatment furnaces, consisting of the combination of a metal runway having lateral guides, and a metal chain movable on said runway and consisting of interengaged links for engagement with the teeth of driving and directing sprocket wheels, said links having side por tions with flat bottom surfaces of engagement Vwith said runways of widths substantially equal to the width between the said runway guides less the lateral clearances for said sprocket teeth, and of lengths substantially equal to the'lengths between clearances of the interengaging portions of said links. Y

il. A. metal conveyor chain consisting of interengaged links for engagement with sprocket teeth, said links having side portions provided with flat bottom supporting surfaces ofk widths substantially equal to the over-all width of the chain less the lateral clearances for sprocket teeth, and of lengths substantially equal to the lengths between clearances of the interengaging portions of said links. e

5. A metal conveyor chain consisting of rectangular links hooked together and provided with clearances permitting bending said chain and for engaging the teeth of driving and directing sprocket wheels, said links having side members extended to form flat bottom supporting surfaces of widths substantially equal to the over-all width of the chain less the lateral clearances for sprocket teeth, and of lengths substantially equal to the lengths between clearances of the interengaging portions of said links.

6. Conveyor means for heat treatment furnaces, consisting of the combination of metal cooling fluid through` said runways, each of said runways consisting of aplurality of sections, said means including piping independently supplying said sections with cooling fluid, and thermostatic devices for independently controlling the flow of cooling fluid in said sections.

8. A' metal runway fora conveyor chain being hollowvto receive cooling fluid, a metal f plate supporting adjacentends'` of twoof said runway sections and maintaining said ends in alignment vertically, and pipes eX- tending from the end portions of said runway sections to supply cooling iiuid'to and l deliver the same from said runway sections, said plate having clearance openings therethrough receiving corresponding pones of said pipes and permitting contraction and expansion of the corresponding runway sections. l i f In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of May, A. D. 1930.

EDSON O. SESSIONS.`

chains extending through the furnace, metalv runways supporting said chains, each of said runways being hollow, and means for passing cooling fluid through said runways, each of said runways including a plurality of separate cooling sections, said means including piping independently supplying said sections with cooling fluid.

7. Conveyor means for heat treatment furnaces, consisting of the combination of metal chains extending through the furnace, metal runways supporting said chains, each of said runways being hollow, means lfor passing 

